FERNDALE, Mich. - Adult bookstore Chosen Books of Michigan has reopened in this suburb of Detroit after closing its doors in Royal Oak, a nearby community, due to high rent six months ago. To comply with Ferndale's laws, the store is only able to feature adult material (gay and straight) in 20% of its space. The rest will be filled up with cards, gifts, and mainstream books and magazines.
Not all in Ferndale are receptive to the presence of an adult bookstore. City Councilman Mike Lennon said at a January meeting, "I'm not too happy about…the adult store theme. We need to stomp our feet a little bit, [but] don't think right now there is anything we can do about this." He aims to monitor the store to make sure the adult content doesn't rise above 20%.
Ferndale resident Thomas Gagne also volunteered to count the merchandise with an eye on the 20% ceiling. He wrote on a blog, "Our reward for advertising tolerance for sexual preferences and allowing sexual preferences to define our city is our city's attractiveness to businesses catering to the prurient."
Chosen Books' owner, Joe Karsinski, has had the store since his son, John Cook, one of the store's original co-owners, died of AIDS in 1993. The store is open every day of the week from noon until 10 p.m.
All models were at least 18 years old at the time of their performance. 18 U.S.C. 2257 Record-Keeping Requirements Compliance Statement.
